Acrylic acid a pungent smelling, colorless liquid, is mainly used as raw material for production of acrylic resins, acrylates and super absorbent polymers. Acrylic acid also finds host of applications in dispersants, flocculants, thickening agents, and adhesives, etc. It is miscible with ethers, water, alcohols and chloroform. Acrylates are mainly employed into the manufacturing of homo or co-polymers such as methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, 2-ethyl-hexyl acrylate, etc. Acrylic acid on reacting with its own esters produces poly acrylic acid and monomers such as vinyl, butadiene, styrene, or acrylonitrile.

Glacial acrylic acid is a key feedstock material used in manufacturing super absorbent polymers (SAP), which is used in the manufacture of personal healthcare and disposable hygiene products such as baby diapers, sanitary napkins, and adult protective underwear. Rapid growth of super absorbent polymers market is expected to trigger market demand for acrylic acid. Moreover, increasing demand for acrylic adhesives in high-end applications that require high shear and tensile strength along with shock absorbent characteristics is expected to propel the demand for acrylic acid in the years to come. However, highly volatile prices of raw material and increasingly stringent environmental regulations are expected to restrain growth of the acrylic acid market. Consequently, manufacturers are expected to shift their focus on development of bio-based acrylic acid, which is expected to open new growth opportunities for acrylic acid manufacturers.

Acrylate esters are typically used in surface coatings followed by adhesives and sealants, plastic additives and textiles. Acrylate esters accounted for over 51% of the total acrylic acid consumed in 2012. However, acrylate esters are expected to lose their market share to glacial acrylic acid and other derivatives during the forecast period. Glacial acrylic acid was the second largest derivative of acrylic acid and is mainly used in manufacturing super absorbent polymers and poly acrylic acid. Other key derivatives of acrylic acid include ammonium poly acrylate and cyano poly acrylate and collectively accounted for over 4% of the total demand for acrylic acid derivatives in 2012.

Asia Pacific is expected to remain the leading market for acrylic acid in terms of demand and is expected to command 47.0% share of the total volume consumption in 2018. The demand for acrylic acid in Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.0% from 2013 to 2019. Asia Pacific is also expected to be the fastest growing region over the next six years, due to the rapidly growing construction industry in emerging economies such as China, India and South Korea. North America was the second largest market for acrylic acid followed by Europe, in 2012.

Acrylic acid market exhibits a high degree of forward integration. Most of the acrylic acid manufacturers across the world are also involved in manufacturing its downstream products such as acrylate esters, glacial acrylic acid, etc. The global market for acrylic acid was dominated by large multinationals such as BASF SE and Dow Chemicals which accounted for 18.6% and 9.1%, respectively, of the total acrylic acid market in 2012. Other key industry participants include StoHaas Monomer, Rohm and Haas, Formosa Plastics, Nippon Shokubai, etc.

The report analyses the acrylic acid market. For an insightful understanding, analysis and forecast have been provided for the time period ranging from 2012 to 2018. The forecasts are on the basis of volume (kilo tons) and revenue (USD million) for both global and regional level. In-depth analysis of the various factors driving and restraining growth of the acrylic acid industry has been included. A thorough analysis of the prevailing and expected growth opportunities in the industry has been included for decision-making.

The value chain analysis comprises of a detailed evaluation of the roles of various entities involved in the acrylic acid industry from raw material suppliers to the end users. In addition, Porter’s five forces model has been used to determine the degree of competition in the industry during the forecast period. Furthermore, market attractiveness analysis has been done to analyze which application segments are expected to be lucrative during the forecast period on the basis of their market size and growth rate.

The acrylic acid market has been segmented on the basis of product type and regional demand. The product types are further analyzed based on their sub-product types and applications. The segments have been analyzed and forecast for a time period ranging from 2012 to 2018. The forecast is on the basis of volume (Kilo tons) and revenue (USD million) for both regional and global level based on current and expected trends of the industry. Geographically, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW), and the demand has been analyzed and forecast based on current trends for a period of six years, ranging from 2012 to 2018.

Market estimates for this study have been based on volumes, with revenues being derived through regional pricing trends. The price for commonly available grade of acrylic acid has been considered and customized product pricing has not been included. The market has been analyzed based on expected demand and the market data for each application and end user segments is based on demand volumes and corresponding revenues. The prices considered for calculation of revenue are average regional prices obtained through primary quotes from numerous regional suppliers, distributors and direct selling regional producers. We have considered prices of acrylic acid as per industry standard based on manufacturer feedback and application requirement. Market data is based on current information. Presence of large number of domestic manufacturers in Asia-Pacific may cause variation in forecast by a small margin. Forecasts have been based on expected demand from applications segments, primarily acrylate esters and glacial acrylic acid. We have used the bottom up approach to arrive at the global market considering individual application segments and integrating them to arrive at the global market. The applications have been further bifurcated using top down approach to derive the regional product market consumption. The study covers the acrylic acid market taking into account the sales of registered companies in the market. We have not included the unorganized sectors of the market due to lack of secondary or primary data on this segment. We have not considered inflation to estimate forecast for our market.

Several primary and secondary sources were consulted during the course of the study. Some of the secondary sources which were consulted were ICIS, IHS, World Bank, Global Chemicals Outlook, The European Chemical Industry Council, EPA - US Environmental Protection Agency, OSHA–Occupational Safety and Health Administration, REACH - Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals among several others.

The report covers a detailed competitive outlook including market shares and company profiles of key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report Akrilat, American Acryl, Arkema, BASF SE, Formosa Plastics, Rohm and Haas, Beijing Eastern–Petrochemical, Dow Chemical Company, IdemitsuPetrochemical, Jiangsu Jurong Chemical, LG Chem, Mitsubishi Chemical, Nippon Shokubai, and StoHaas Monomer. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, financial overview, business strategy, SWOT analysis and recent developments. The market has been segmented as below:

Acrylic Acid Market: Product Segment Analysis

Acrylate Esters

Acrylate Esters: Product type

Methyl acrylate

Ethyl acrylate

Butyl acrylate

2-ethylhexyl acrylate

Acrylate Esters: By applications

Surface Coatings

Adhesives and sealants

Textiles

Plastic additives

Printing ink

Others (Papers, etc.)

Glacial Acrylic Acid

Glacial Acrylic Acid: By type

Superabsorbent polymers (SAP)

Poly acrylic acid

Others

The report provides a cross-sectional analysis of the above applications segments with respect to the following regions: